An ‘equipment violation’ led to chase, arrest near Ferndale

Two Whatcom County men were arrested on outstanding warrants and other charges after a short chase Monday afternoon, a Washington State Patrol trooper said.

Trooper Travis Shearer said Cody W. Wozniak, 25, and Nathanial Chavez Huckaby, 31, were booked into Whatcom County Jail about 9:40 p.m. Monday. They remained in custody Tuesday afternoon.

Shearer said the incident began when a trooper tried to stop Wozniak for an “equipment violation” on the 1999 Honda Accord he was driving. Wozniak sped away, then parked the car behind the Lummi Mini Mart on Slater Road west of Interstate 5.

Both men fled on foot, Shearer said. Ferndale Police and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, using dogs and officers on foot and in cars, helped find the pair about a mile northwest of where they ditched the car, Shearer said.

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Both men were examined by firefighters and at St. Joseph hospital after their arrest about 2:30 p.m. Monday at the corner of Sunset Avenue and Stonegate Way in Ferndale, Shearer said.

Wozniak suffered a dog bite and Huckaby appeared to be overdosing on drugs, Shearer said. They were treated and booked into jail.

Wozniak could faces charges of first-degree driving with a suspended license, attempting to elude a police vehicle, reckless driving, second-degree burglary, obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest, according to jail records.

Huckaby was arrested on a Department of Corrections detainer and suspicion of second-degree burglary, obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest. He was convicted on felony drug charges in 2015, according to court records.